Puppy Lover, Wife and Mom Extraordinaire

Five of my favorite things I’m loving this week.

Found this recipe on Pinterest and it couldn’t be easier. You can use any muffin mix you want. The absolute best part about it is you can eat cookies for breakfast and not feel nearly as guilty as you normally would. That is winning in my book. Grayson loves these and they last a bit longer than muffins. You only use muffin mix, eggs, brown sugar, oatmeal and some oil. So easy and delicious.

I love supporting the business’ of people I know, Let’s Put A Bird On It is one of those business’. Cassie is the owner and she is such a great human I love and feel good about buying her stuff. She makes everything herself and it’s always all natural. I was skeptical about using the dry shampoo only because the powders usually make my hair look white. This stuff keeps my blonde looking blonde and a little goes a long way. Did I mention she’s a huge animal lover and a portion of her proceeds goes to animal rescue? Yep, she’s a wonderful human and so creative. Her packaging is awesome and she has something for every occasion. Bonus: Cassie always throws in samples of her other stuff and even tea candles to check out her different scented candles.Helpful products:

I know! I know! I’m late on this jacket. This is the jacket that every blogger has had forever but I just bought it. So I’m newly obsessed with it. I’ve worn it so many times already. It’s warm and comes in so many colors. I’m eyeing the pink one next (shhhh don’t tell my husband ;)). I thought this color would only be good for fall but I’ve put it with so many spring dresses.

Sakara Hemp Chocolate:

I have major anxiety and it gets so bad at night. I crawl into bed and lay there for 1-2 hours because my brain won’t shut off or stop thinking about the what if’s of life. I’ve tried so many things from yoga to tea and not much has helped. I found this on Pinterest and was intrigued so I ordered some. I’m not sure if it’s a placebo effect or if it really is the hemp in the chocolate but whatever it is it calms me quite a bit. It tastes delicious too so even if it didn’t work I’d still be able to enjoy the rest of the bottle. The packaging is so cute too.

After having my little munchkin none of my white jeans fit great anymore. I felt like a 10lbs sausage in a 5lbs casing. When I went on the hunt for new ones I knew I didn’t want to spend a fortune since I have quite a few that might fit if I get my caboose to the gym. I found these on Nordstrom’s site and they are great. They’re stretchy but don’t get baggy. My only complaint is they have no pockets in the front, but it does make them a lot more flattering. I’ve worn them so many times and they still have their shape. Best part about these jeans is they are only $59. That’s a great price for how wonderful the fit is.

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Love of My Life,

Today you enter your 29th year of life. Even though you don’t really care for birthdays you always let me go over the top anyways. I like to think that it’s like I have two birthdays because you let me do whatever I want for you. Plus, let’s not forget the shopping, I love the shopping that comes along with your birthday. 😉

Let me start off by saying from the minute I met you, you’ve been the best person I know. You are smart, dependable, honest, and kind. Your drive and work ethic to give our family this amazing life inspires me daily.

Even though I bought you gifts because that’s my love language, I also wanted to thank you….so thank you….

Thank you for showing me endless patience. I appreciate your ability to know my strengths outweigh my weaknesses especially when I can’t seem to see that myself.

Thank you for bringing me a sense of stability that I’ve only ever dreamed of. Because of you, I’ve been able to go after goals I thought were out completely out of reach.

Thank you for supporting me in my crazy endeavors and being right by my side every step of the way. Thank you for pushing me to be a better person and to be who I am truly meant to be.

Thank you for loving me unconditionally. I know I am a work in progress but I know if and when I make mistakes you will be right there to lift me up.

Thank you for Grayson, in him I see your kind heart, your never-ending patience, and your incredible intelligence. Not to forget the fact that he’s got your big beautiful blue eyes. You are his “Super Daddy” if he grows to be half the man you are I will be a very happy mama.

Thank you for working for our marriage every day. For telling me I’m beautiful when I haven’t showered in two days. For offering to make dinner when I say I don’t feel like cooking (even though you are a terrible cook). For coming home and emptying the dishwasher without being asked because you know I’ve had a tough, terrible two’s, day.

The world needs more men like you. We are so lucky to have you in our lives and I’m thankful every day. I hope this day is amazing and that there isn’t any cars or dog hair in your cake. We love you. Happy birthday.

Love Always,

Your Wife

Take this post with a grain of salt. Am I saying every pregnant woman/ new mom should run out and get a dog? Absolutely not! That would result in quite a few extra dogs in the shelters and I’m not a fan of that. I’m a firm believer that not everyone should own a dog. Even before I had my son I knew dogs were a lot of work and even more money. I’ll be honest having a puppy with a baby was one of the hardest things I’ve done. This post is for those people on the fence about whether or not to get a new dog/puppy when they have a baby at home. For us it was and to this day is totally worth it.

My Boston Terrier Bubba was my fur baby for 7 years before I had my human baby. He had so many medical issues I would often refer to myself as “dog poor”. He died unexpectedly and unexplained about a year after my son was born and I was completely devastated. I had rescued him from a shelter in San Diego, so rescues and shelters were the first places I looked. Unfortunately, the Boston Terrier rescues near us have strict rules about homes with children under the age of 10. The dogs in the shelter I saw all needed to be the only dog or in a home with no children. We decided our best bet was to get a Boston Terrier from a reputable breeder. We searched for what felt like forever, and finally found Ruby, A.K.A Penelope. She was 12 weeks old when we got her and my son was just under a year.
Penelope has been the perfect dog for our family. She plays with our senior dog Barkley and is so gentle with Grayson.

Here are my top 10 reasons for getting a puppy when you have a baby.

Your puppy will grow up with children and learn to be a family dog.

She has grown up with Grayson so she doesn’t know a life without children. So I know if we decide to have another child in the future she can handle it. Or if anything happened to us she would be able to be put in a home with children and there would be no issues.

Your child will grow up with animals and develop compassion for them.

Grayson has grown up with dogs. I truly believe his kindness and empathy at only 2 years old is partially due to having dogs. When Penelope broke her elbow Grayson learned to be gentle with her. Every day when she’s scared and barks Grayson says “Aw Penelope its okay I’m here”.

Your child will learn how to be responsible for another living thing at a young age.

Grayson has requested to feed our dogs and so we’ve made it his responsibility and his daily chore. He loves putting food in their bowls and monitoring them to make sure they’re full and that they always have water. He goes with us to their vet appointments and knows that dogs see the “dogtor” too.

Your dog will learn to tolerate kid stuff early and quickly.

We never let Grayson pull on her or try to sit on her, but it does happen. Especially when your child is just realizing that this furry cuddly thing, moves around, and actually wants to loved and touched. Penelope has always been exceptional at tolerating Grayson’s antics. I’ll turn around for a moment and see Grayson head locking her. She never even looks phased she just lets him practically smother her with love. To be fair he thinks he’s hugging her.

You always have a little cleaning machine close by your kid.

Kids drop food on the floor. My dogs learned that really early on. I can just imagine what they’re thinking….”This little human can be annoying but he’s always dropping us treats and is always sticky and tasty”. Let’s face it, any cleaning your dog can take care of that you don’t have to is awesome.

Your dog will help your child to be a kid and play dirty.

One of my favorite memories of Penelope’s puppy days is when we got a bubble machine and went out and played in the backyard. Penelope would eat a bubble and shortly after Grayson was eating them too. Penelope was rolling in the dirt and sure enough, Grayson had to do it too. This was a big deal for us because prior to that our son would freak when he had dirt on his hands.

Your children will learn the unconditional love of a dog early on.

My son will have his tantrums and cry and Penelope will come up and try to love him. He’ll get upset and tell her no and 5 minutes later she’ll be back trying to lick his tears. He knows his dog will always be there for him. Even when he doesn’t think he wants it.

Both your child and dog learn about sharing.

Teething necklace Grayson shared with his puppy.

Neither babies or puppies start out great at sharing. Grayson has had to learn that many of his baby toys look awfully good to a teething puppy. Penelope has learned that just because she’s playing with her ball doesn’t mean Grayson won’t come up and steal it right from under her nose. The beginnings of them learning to share was hard but now they both just understand that they share toys. Penelope plays with some of the kid toys and Grayson plays with dog toys. They’ll even participate in a good old-fashioned game of tug-o-war together.

Both your dog and your child have a companion for all the love and cuddles needed.

When Penelope gets in trouble she runs to Grayson, she knows that he’ll always have her back. Right when she runs to him Grayson says “Aw it’s okay puppy you a good dog”.
Sometimes at night he’ll have bad dreams and want to love on her. Even more impressive is it’s like she knows, whenever Grayson is asking for her she’s right next to his crib putting her tongue through right to his face.

You’re giving a dog a home full of kid love.

My son is full of hugs and kisses and never gets tired of throwing the ball over and over. Penelope will drop the ball at Grayson’s feet and instead of telling her we can play later….like I’m often guilty of….he picks it up and throws it over and over until one of them gets tired. I don’t think anyone could love Penelope or give her the endless amounts of attention she needs like my son does.

Penelope is my son’s best friend. They will grow up together and always have each other. Was it hard to take care of a baby and a puppy? Yes, but I wouldn’t change it for the world. They have taught each other so much. They bond more and more each day, it’s such a beautiful relationship.

This Weeks 5 Favorites

When I first got this I was skeptical. The directions are to spray on your face wait 3 seconds rub in and then wash off with warm water. It’s supposed to remove dead skin and dirt and leave your face feeling smooth and fresh. I have become obsessed with it. I’ve been using 3-4 times a week and I have seen a major difference especially putting on my makeup. Before my dry skin would make my makeup patchy and uneven now it’s so smooth. You can see results immediately, your skin is softer, smoother, and brighter too.

I thought this was over hyped when I saw it on Nordstrom’s website. $24 for some lip balm. That is too rich for my blood. Then I got a sample set on Amazon and fell in love. It smells amazing and is nourishing with just the right amount of color. My favorite is the Poppy because it’s a little more pigmented than the Rose. I use the advanced lip therapy one for under lipsticks and it keeps my lips hydrated and from looking cracked or peeling.

Even if you don’t love the books or the movies I highly suggest you check out the soundtrack. The cover of Coldplay’s “The Scientist” by Corinne Bailey Rae is worth it alone. One Woman Man by John Legend is another of my favorites. No matter your feelings about the franchise I think we can all agree the songs and covers are usually pretty great.

This has completely transformed my hair. A few drops on my damp hair after I shower and it helps with tangles, split ends, fly aways, and makes it so so so soft. I love the caramel and vanilla scent and it lasts for a better part of the day. A little drop is all you need. Rub it together on your hands and rub through to the ends (avoiding your roots so you don’t end up looking like your hair is dirty). I used it before I blow dried it and I swear my hair dried faster and was smoother than ever before.

As I talked about in my previous post, I’m really working on being kinder and encouraging kindness. This is right on point with that goal. I just ordered the book after watching the series. I usually like to read the book first but just happened to stumble upon the series on Netflix when I was looking for something kid friendly.

The book and series are about Leon, a former businessman, who realized he was not happy with the life he was leading. Even with all the things society considers successful. So he decides to travel across the world with no money, relying only on the kindness of strangers. I’ll admit I ugly cried the first 3 episodes because the people who have nothing are always the first to offer to help him. A homeless man with nothing but the shirt on his back and a doorway offered him food, his bed, and even extra clothing. It really has helped restore some of my faith in humanity.

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So please stop judging the “over” dressed mom you see out and about because chances are….

She sees your side glances and eye rolls. And even though it hurts her she’ll kill you with kindness and respond with a smile. Or just pretend not to notice the undeserved judgment all over your face.

Don’t look at her like she’s crazy to be wearing lipstick, heels, and a head of curls because she’s “just” shopping at Target. And she won’t judge you for your jeans and t-shirt or leggings and Uggs.

Try to keep in mind that this mom stays home most days. That her at home wardrobe is meant for her toddler lifestyle. It consists of things she doesn’t mind getting yogurt, markers, or the occasional booger on.

Try to understand she stays home often; because it saves money, and it’s hard for her to get out with a moody toddler. So when she does go out she likes to dress up and give herself a little boost of confidence.

Once upon a time, she was like you and would get dressed and do her makeup and feel like a human every day. Those days are now luxuries and to spare the clothes she once coveted, and makeup she loved; the only time she gets to really get dressed is for mundane things like the grocery store, a rare playdate, or the pediatrician.

If you knew this dressed up mom, you’d know she’s the first to give a compliment and the last to judge anyone.

She doesn’t think she’s better than you or any other mom. It’s just something that makes her feel like more like her pre-kid days and less like her sloppy, every day, self.

She loves being a mother but knows that is not all she is. Dressing up reminds her she is more than just the role of stay at home mom.

She’s more than the stains she’s so used to seeing every day. That she can be that well-dressed woman she once was, even with a toddler in tow.

She doesn’t do it to make anyone feel bad or to look better than anyone she does it to help herself to feel good.

Whether you see the mom in Uggs and leggings, or heels and pearls, just try to remember; we’re all just trying to survive motherhood. Any way that we can.

I am usually so bad about planning meals ahead of time. 95% of our meals are thrown together the morning of. The big problem with my last-minute meal planning is we buy our meat in bulk and freeze it. So I always have frozen meat. We all know meat is best thawed in the refrigerator so what do you do when your meat is still frozen? Throw it in the crock pot. Today I’m going to share my favorite frozen chicken crock pot meals. YEP FROZEN.

1. Creamy Ranch Chicken

(Serving size: 4)

Ingredients:

(3-4) Frozen chicken breasts medium-sized.

(1) Package of dry ranch seasoning.

(2) Cups of chicken stock.

(2) 10oz cans of cream of chicken soup.

(1) Cup of sour cream

(1) Package of egg noodles or you can use rice.

Pepper to taste.

Directions: Place frozen chicken in crock-pot. In a bowl mix ranch, chicken stock, and cream of chicken soup. Pour mixture over chicken and put on low for 6-9 hrs. or high for 3-4 hrs. Pull chicken out of crockpot and shred and then add back to mixture. Add sour cream and mix.10 minutes before serving; boil noodles/rice according to package directions. Pour chicken and soup mixture over noodles/rice, add pepper to taste.

2. Salsa Chicken Tacos

(Serving size: 4)

Ingredients:

(3-4) Frozen chicken breasts.

(1) 16 oz can of your favorite salsa

(1) package of taco seasoning

(1) Cup of chicken stock (optional)

(1) package of tortillas or shells

Directions: Place frozen chicken in your crockpot, then pour chicken stock over chicken breasts (this step isn’t necessary but I think it helps the seasoning to stick to the chicken). Sprinkle taco seasoning over chicken, then dump salsa over everything. Cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 8 hours. Pull chicken out and shred then put back into salsa mixture. Add it to your tortillas and add your favorite taco toppings and enjoy. So easy and delicious.

3. Chicken Tortilla Soup

(Serving size: 4-6)

Ingredients:

(3-4) Medium sized frozen chicken breasts.

(1) Can of black beans rinsed and drained.

(1) Can of corn drained.

,(2) Cans of Rotel drained.

(1) Package of taco seasoning

(48 oz.) Chicken Stock

(1) Cup of shredded cheese

(1) Bag of tortilla chips

(Optional: Sour cream, jalapeño slices, and lime wedges for toppings)

Directions: Place frozen chicken into your crock pot. Add black beans, corn, Rotel, and taco seasoning. Pour chicken stock over everything. Cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 7-8 hours. Pull chicken out of the crock pot and shred then add back into soup. Ladle soup into bowls and top with tortilla chips, shredded cheese, sour cream and anything else. I like to add a squirt of lime to add some extra zest and some jalapeño for a little kick.

There you have it! Some easy recipes if you forget to take the chicken out of the freezer or are just short on time.

Hope you guys enjoy! Let me know if you try any of these or have any tips for the recipes.

Okay, I’m going to admit I only just got this on Saturday but, I already love it.

When I first moved to New York I really struggled with dry skin. I drank extra water, exfoliated, used in-shower lotions and oils; and my skin still felt drier than it had ever been. I fell in love with Palmer’s Face oil but I quickly discovered the scent that I loved most about it (rose hips), fades after a few uses. Plus it only really worked if I put it on my face when it was still wet. My skin never saw improvements even after extended use of the oil. So this winter I set out to find something new, and boy did I! This stuff is great and won’t break the bank I got mine for $5. It’s odorless and keeps your skin moisturized without feeling greasy or looking shiny. Bonus: it has SPF 15 in it. Being the fairest skinned person I know, I stay out of the sun out of habit, but I do forget to put sunscreen on for everyday errands. So it’s so nice to know I don’t have to think about it. After a few days of use, my skin feels so much softer. Goodbye, winter scaly, skin. Hello, soft as a baby’s bottom, skin.

I am the worst sleeper. It’s no wonder, my son took 29 months to sleep through the night. He must have inherited my terrible sleep habits. My night-time anxiety is the main problem just as I start to feel tired, my brain starts going a million miles a minute thinking about everything but sleep. It usually takes me 1-2 hours to actually fall asleep, so when I do I want to stay asleep and wake up rested. These gummies have helped tremendously I fall asleep much faster and my sleep feels restful. Even last night I woke up a few times because of our dogs but when I woke for the day I felt more rested than I have in months.

Warning: they taste amazing they are white tea and passion fruit flavor, so keep them away from little ones and stick to the recommended dosing. I’ve been taking one an hour before bed and the other right before. I’ve been falling asleep within 15 minutes, which is a miracle for me.

Picked these up at Target, randomly (okay, not randomly, they were on Cartwheel, and I’m a sucker for new snacks) and then promptly added them to our amazon cart after trying them. They are delicious. They remind me of a girl scout cookie and granola bar hybrid. They have no artificial flavors or colors. It’s peanut butter and chocolate and granola…need I say more? Each package is 200 calories and it comes with 2 cups in each. Great for sharing with toddlers or husbands (or hiding in the pantry scarfing them alone is great as well). They’ve even helped with my sweet tooth. I’ll have one cup before bed instead of a bowl of ice cream and its only 100 calories instead of a gazillion.

Let me tell you a weird thing about me. I hate getting fresh flowers, but I love the smell of them. (Every guy I ever dated thought this was the weirdest, most frustrating, thing) There’s something about watching beautiful flowers die a little each day that I just don’t love. So, I have a couple bouquets of faux flowers and a lot of things that smell like flowers, but I try to stay away from the real thing. This candle is wonderful, it smells just like roses. Before this, I haven’t been a huge Yankee Candle person, I mean they don’t sell them at Target, so why bother? Haha! I’m kidding, they were just really expensive for my dollar store budget. I got this one on the daily deals for $5 off and I’m hooked.

Last but not least this amazing sparkling water I’ve only just discovered. I’ll be honest, I’ve never been great at drinking water. In fact, until I got pregnant, I remember days where I couldn’t remember the last cup of water I had. That’s terrible. Water is so necessary and good for you. I could hear that a thousand times and still dread drinking it. It’s boring and tasteless and isn’t coffee or wine. So, I would force myself to drink it hating every minute. This stuff is a game changer. I used to love La Croix because it gives it a little something, well this stuff tastes better and is healthier. It’s got antioxidants and vitamins with no calories, sugar, or sodium. I love the orange mango flavor but there are so many flavors. Oh, and they are pretty cheap! They come out to about a dollar a bottle. Not as cheap as water but way more flavorful.

Hope you’ve enjoyed this weeks 5 things. Do you love any of these too? Leave a comment below and tell me what you’ve been in love with recently.

Thanks for reading.

Rachel

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To help me achieve another of my 2017 goals of reading more, I recently ordered “The Magnolia Story” by Chip and Joanna Gaines with Mark Dagostino. Let me just start off by saying, I was a little skeptical because I love them. I love their show, I love their chemistry, I just love everything they are about. I have been a fan since the beginning and I don’t even have cable. I purchase the seasons on Apple. That is how obsessed I am. That being said I had to convince myself to purchase this book. I was worried that with all of their talents, that writing just couldn’t be one of them. I didn’t want to walk away with disappointment or any negative feelings towards two people who totally inspire me. I was also doubtful that their playfulness and chemistry would convey into the book. After finishing the book a few days ago I can say all my fears were completely unfounded. They did an amazing job. The book just reconfirmed my love for them and I didn’t even think it was possible, but I love them even more.

They did an amazing job showing us just how Chip and Joanna came to be these people we all have fallen in love with. Stories of their childhood, their failures and successes really made them even more relatable. They didn’t get to be one of America’s favorite couples by chance, they worked hard at everything they did. They didn’t have a goal to be rich or famous. Much like many of us, they just wanted to be good people who raised good kids. The show came out in 2013, they were well into their thirties. They aren’t young people who just started out and got great overnight and then got famous. It took them years and lots of bumps and turns on the road. Such an inspiring book to show you if you work hard you can achieve anything even if it doesn’t happen right away.

Before reading this I was always curious how they got their start. They seem like such an odd couple. Don’t get me wrong, I completely love them. But with Joanna’s structured ways and Chip’s silliness and crazy antics you can’t help but wonder just how this couple came together and continues to work after 12+ years. Their love story isn’t a fairytale. In fact, they’re the first to admit it wasn’t love at first sight. Or even second sight. I couldn’t believe how honest they were admitting they didn’t just fall in love. It took work. They continuously come back to how their different attributes have a positive effect on their relationship, and how they energize each other. It really made me feel great to see a beautiful couple who have been my #couplegoals for a few years now admit they’re real people.

“The Magnolia Story” is an honest and inspiring story. After reading I walked away with more contentment for my life, loving just how opposite my husband and I are, and lastly, I walked away being satisfied with the fact that I’m turning thirty this year and haven’t yet achieved a lot of my goals. Just like Joanna, it will happen someday I just have the appreciate the “dirty fingerprints on the white couch cover” while I can and get there when I get there, just like she did.

Favorite part of the day has got to be putting Grayson to bed, and not for the reason you probably think…

As much as I love the peacefulness that comes with having our rambunctious toddler in bed, I realized last night that I love our night-time routine. It’s literally our little family of three, on the floor playing and reading, completely shut off from technology and any distraction. That rarely happens for us so I’ve been soaking up every minute of it.

In the past, my husband would try to be sweet and put Grayson to bed without me, to give me time to relax. I realized how sad I would feel listening to their conversations over the monitor and not being a part of it. Plus I figured out Grayson gives the most hugs and kisses at night. It’s so sweet. Definitely, can’t miss that.

If it’s not bath night we start the routine by putting a fresh diaper and pajamas on him and then brushing his teeth. To keep him interested in brushing his teeth we make up silly songs to get him giggling and smiling and his mouth open. He’s actually really grown to love brushing them just from our silly songs (and his light up toothbrush) and I’ve really grown to love making up silly rhyming songs about teeth with my husband. I actually find myself rhyming throughout the day in my head. Yeah, after two years, it’s pretty much Dr. Seuss in there.

Light up toothbrush has saved us. He loves brushing his teeth and it lights for as long as you need to brush your teeth. He went to the dentist yesterday and got a perfect report.

After Grayson is all ready for bed we have him pick out a few books. He grabs 3-4 and we sit on the floor. His favorite book at the moment is called “Where is Baby’s Mommy‘. It’s a pull the flap book that has a bunch of his favorite things in it. At the end, the mommy ends up being under a blanket. Just to keep bedtime a fun experience my husband and I have been taking turns popping out of a blanket. He laughs hysterically every time and says”do it again, do it again”. Another favorite book is “Goodnight Moon” he’s read it so many times he knows all of the words and loves talking about the 2 little kittens and the pair of mittens. I particularly love this one because he can pretty much read it to us just based on the pictures.

After we’ve been silly and read a few books, Grayson asks to be scooped up and put in his crib. We put him in his crib and read “My Goodnight Book” which is literally a book from when I was a child that I saved for my future kid. We get our last hugs and kisses of the day and tuck him in with his blankets. He’s slept with the same knitted blanket from his great grandma and he absolutely cannot sleep without it. He turns on his turtle and cube light (both of which have helped him tremendously with sleeping through the night), then he says “Goodnight mommy and daddy I love you too much”, and I swear at that moment every night my heart melts into a puddle.

Every day I get a little sad and excited when 7:30 rolls around. Sad that my toddler time is coming to an end for the day, and excited that it’s almost the Wagner hour of fun.

What’s your favorite part of the day? Any must haves for bedtime for you or your kids.

1. NYX liquid suede lipstick in the shade kitten heels.

If you know me you probably know I don’t often wear lipstick. I might put it on for a picture but I usually won’t be caught out and about wearing it. The truth is I’m just too lazy for it. I ALWAYS forget to bring the lipstick with me so I’ll never touch it up, so by the end of the outing, there is hardly any on my lips and a ton on my teeth. Which as I’m sure you can imagine is not an attractive look. This lipstick is a game changer. It glides on with a felt brush and easily coats your whole lip without much effort. It dries so it doesn’t smudge or rub off. The color is amazing. I’ve gotten so many compliments when I wear, it which shocked me. (Some reds are not for me since I have a lot of red in my skin tone)(Note: I recommend before application to exfoliate your lips with a lip scrub or a toothbrush. You definitely don’t want bumpy lips under the lipstick)

I bought ithereif you’re interested in trying it, it’s around $7 and worth every penny.

Here I am all jazzed up for 2017

2. YSL The Shock mascara.

I recently joined Influensters because I had heard about it on a blog when I was browsing through Pinterest. It’s a site where you load up all of your social media information and then answer a bunch of questions, and they might pick you to try a product and write reviews on it. I’m on another site similar to it and have received some good stuff so I thought I’d try this one as well. Well, I was not disappointed. They sent me a full size “sample” for testing purposes of YSL’s new mascara. IT IS AMAZING. I love the idea of false lashes but hate the feeling of them and just can’t imagine trying to glue them on every day. So I’ve just been settling with my real ones. This is as close to false lashes as I’ve ever seen. It made them at least 5x bigger and really extended them. I didn’t have to do 8 coats to achieve it either. I love it.

Look at those lashes.

3. Philosophy’s Purity Made Simple facial cleanser.

Lately, I’m ashamed to say I’ve gotten so lazy with taking off makeup I was using make up remover cloths every night. (I blame my laziness on my lack of sleep due to my toddler, who only within the last week has been finally sleeping through the night). Those are great to use occasionally but not every day like I had been. My skin was breaking out and I’d wake up with eyeliner still on from the day before. I received a sample size of this stuff from a makeup order and quickly used it all up. I had used purity at one point about 10 years ago but got in the habit of just buying whatever target had when I was there. I forgot how much I love this stuff. It’s lightly scented and one little drop goes a long way. It gets everything off and leaves your skin soft and smooth. I can use it to remove eye makeup without blinding myself or scrubbing harshly. I cannot say enough good things about this wash.

I was so happy I could buy it on amazon. I bought the big bottle ($28) to split between my bathroom sink and the shower. Click here to check it out it’s wonderful and will last you awhile.

4. Torani: S’mores hot cocoa k-cups.

Bet you thought it was going to be all beauty stuff huh? Hah! I just had to write about these they are amazing. I have an espresso machine so must of the coffee k-cups I’ve tried pale in comparison to my lattes, but these are amazing. It literally smells like a chocolate, marshmallow, graham cracker, heaven when it’s brewing. How could anything be better than that? Well, it actually tastes like a s’more too. The question is how did Torani get a whole s’more in that tiny cup? You think I’m silly, but it really tastes like they did.

Run, don’t walk and buy these. Or just stay in your pajamas and buy them here.You won’t regret it I promise.

5. Bath and Body Works Black Cherry Merlot…well, everything:

Yep, I didn’t put a specific thing there because I’m obsessed with it all. The lotion, the foaming cleanser, and the candle. So I’m normally not a huge B&B girl only because I’d rather spend my money on clothes than “smell good” things. Our roommate happened to have bought this for himself and I quickly claimed it as my own. It really smells like wine. The cherry and wine smell immediately relaxes me and makes me insanely happy. I was surprised at how long the scent lasts when using the lotion and hand soap as well.

It’s all amazing and it’s how my how will smell for the next few months until I find a new scent to obsess over. If you’d like to smell it for yourself here’sthe link for the lotion and soap, and here is the candle.